Prometheus Bound and Other Plays by Aeschylus Prometheus Bound, The Suppliants, Seven Against Thebes, The Persians (Penguin Classics)

Often recognized as the father of tragedy, this collection of plays by the ancient Greek soldier and playwright Aeschylus is a testament to his skill and enduring legacy in the history of theatre. In "Suppliant Maidens," the fifty daughters of Danaus flee from marriages to the fifty sons of their uncle, showing an obedience to their father that has tragic consequences. "The Persians" is thought to be the oldest surviving play still in existence today, and is additionally unique because it focuses on the enormous defeat of the Persian King Xerxes rather than a myth distant even to the ancient Greeks. The gods are punishing the hubris of the Persians to the point at which even the Greeks feel some sympathy for them. In "The Seven Against Thebes," the battle for the throne of Thebes upon the banishment of Oedipus pits two brothers against each other in a fatal bout of single combat. Finally, "Prometheus Bound" explores the myth of a Titan and his punishment from Zeus for giving fire and knowledge to mankind. Th

Aeschylus was born of a noble family near Athens in 525 BC. He took part in the Persian Wars and his epitaph, said to have been written by himself, represents him as fighting at Marathon. At some time in his life he appears to have been prosecuted for divulging the Eleusinian mysteries, but he apparently proved himself innocent. Aeschylus wrote more than seventy plays, of which seven have survived: The Suppliants, The Persians, Seven Against Thebes, Prometheus Bound, Agamemnon, The Choephori, and The Eumenides. (All are translated for Penguin Classics.) He visited Syracuse more than once at the invitation of Hieron I and he died at Gela in Sicily in 456 BC. Aeschylus was recognized as a classic writer soon after his death, and special privileges were decreed for his plays.